In 1989-1990, the Edmonton Oilers won their 5th Stanley Cup in 7 years -- their first one without Wayne Gretzky who was now with the Los Angeles Kings, leading the NHL with 142 points. While Mario Lemieux officially had the highest NHL base salary, Wayne Gretzky was by far making more money with numerous very lucrative endorsement deals. They were the only 2 NHLers making over a million a year in base salary.
| Rank | Player | Team | NHL Salary ($US) | In today's $ |
| 1 | Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh | $2,000,000 | $4,040,323 |
| 2 | Wayne Gretzky | Los Angeles | $1,720,000 | $3,474,677 |
| 3 | Mark Messier | Edmonton | $837,142 | $1,691,161 |
| 4 | Steve Yzerman | Detroit | $700,000 | $1,414,113 |
| 5 | Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | $575,000 | $1,161,593 |
| 6 | Larry Robinson | Los Angeles | $550,000 | $1,111,089 |
| 7 | Denis Savard | Chicago | $525,000 | $1,060,585 |
| 8 | Michel Goulet | Quebec / Chicago | $507,000 | $1,024,222 |
| 9 | Raymond Bourque | Boston | $500,000 | $1,010,081 |
| 9 | Ron Hextall | Philadelphia | $500,000 | $1,010,081 |
| 9 | Doug Wilson | Chicago | $500,000 | $1,010,081 |
| 9 | Dave Taylor | Los Angeles | $500,000 | $1,010,081 |
| 9 | Tim Kerr | Philadelphia | $500,000 | $1,010,081 |
| 14 | Chris Chelios | Montreal | $485,875 | $981,546 |
| 15 | Paul Coffey | Pittsburgh | $450,000 | $909,073 |
| 16 | Mike Liut | Hartford / Washington | $445,000 | $898,972 |
| 17 | Borje Salming | Detroit | $435,000 | $878,770 |
| 18 | Mark Howe | Philadelphia | $425,000 | $858,569 |
| 19 | Jari Kurri | Edmonton | $422,500 | $853,518 |
| 20 | Tomas Sandstrom | New York Rangers / Los Angeles | $410,000 | $828,266 |
| 21 | Peter Stastny | Quebec / New Jersey | $405,600 | $819,377 |
| 22 | Al Macinnis | Calgary | $401,375 | $810,842 |
| 23 | Pat Lafontaine | New York Islanders | $400,000 | $808,065 |
| 23 | Bernie Nicholls | Los Angeles / New York Rangers | $400,000 | $808,065 |
| 23 | Mike Gartner | Minnesota / New York Rangers | $400,000 | $808,065 |
| 23 | Jimmy Carson | Edmonton / Detroit | $400,000 | $808,065 |
Photo credit: Upper Deck 1990-91